A Reason to Smile
by Acaybay
Summary: AU Life's been tough for Sonic as he lives with a father who has no recognition for him at all, a mother whose married to another male, and the fact that he has no friends to tell his problems too. So why can't this red echidna leave him alone? Read/Review
1. Chapter 1

I'm going to warn all of you now, this story is pretty much a little darker than the stories I usually make.

Sonic: WHAT IS WITH YOU WITH TORTURING ME?

Uh, well you see… *pulls up Fairy Tail manga* Gah, it's right to left not the other way around D:

Knuckles: Wimp.

Oh shush you! Anyways, I hold no rights to the Sonic casts, nor do I have any grudge against them. This story was just for kicks made by me, don't like don't read, and so on and so forth…

**Chapter 1**

"_You're the problem in my life."_

Sonic was inside his room, recovering from his recent session of just crying his heart out. He held his arm tight as blood seeped through his gash. It hurt like hell, but his father wouldn't care. The man never cared about him in the first place.

"_If I had the chance, I'd rather have left this place then to have you with me."_

Sonic hissed as the blood flow continued toward, staining the carpet with red droplets. The pain surged through his body, the knife had really gone deep. Sonic would have sworn it cut a nerve that was connected to his heart. Of course, what's the point of reporting it to anyone outside the house? After all, no one would ever believe him. They'd probably just make up more excuses to keep the blue hedgehog from feeling completely broken.

"_You're the soul reason why Aleena left me! You just had to scare her away!"_

Blue eyelids opened slightly as emerald, green orbs gazed at the floor below.

Sonic never really knew his mother. It was always a dream for him to meet her in person, and to actually get some answers about herself and his own birth.

Of course, he knew well that his mother was married to another hedgehog named Jules. The two mobians were both very happy with each other, and that they were both expecting a child in a few months. He knew; judging from the information he received rather brutally from his father, the married couple lives on one of the houses down the street from where they live. Sonic would always pass by on his way to school, but he'd never look up at the windows.

It already hurt having to understand that his mother left his dad and him and is now expecting a new bundle of joy to take care of and raise.

After all, Sonic knew that he was the child that shouldn't have been.

He was the mistake that should have been avoided.

"_You screwed up my life…"_

And his father made it hell of noticeable.

Sonic sighed as he stood up. He felt dizzy, his vision blurred. The blue hedgehog carefully guided himself over to his bed. Propping his blanket, Sonic gently laid himself down on his pillow. Dinner would be ready soon, and the cobalt teen would never hear the end of the drama. He would just listen to his father's constant complaining of him not being the "good" child that he'd dreamed of having, and Sonic wouldn't do anything but glare.

It wasn't his fault that he could never be that perfect child that could have brought his father happiness.

Why, the man hadn't even known that his class schedule consisted of five advanced classes and two regular credited classes.

His teachers admired how smart the young, blue hedgehog was. He was ranked number one in the whole grade, but of course, the ranking didn't matter a single thing to his father. No, it was all about how the young teen had caused hell for him, nothing other than that mattered to his old man.

"My life is just nothing but fucking torture to him, isn't it?" Sonic said, gazing at the ceiling.

It was just another day in hell.

The door creaked open, and a blue hedgehog with brown eyes and an aftershave that covered his muzzle. "Get dressed, Chuck is here…" the gruff voice said as the owner literally slammed the door shut.

Sonic rolled his eyes as he made his way to his closet.

He put on one his nicest clothes, a sweatshirt with a white undershirt and some dress pants. Grabbing a handkerchief, Sonic tied it around the wound that his father had marked him with. He couldn't let anyone see his cuts or bruises, or else his father would mess him up even harder than before. Of course, the thought of it didn't scare Sonic anymore unlike when he was a child; the threat was like the end of the world back then. Now, the threat sounded like another chore to get done than the end of the world.

Looking at the mirror, Sonic faked a smile at himself.

"Nothing is wrong with me, heh, everything's perfectly normal…" he lied in a sarcastic tone as he walking out the door.

As dinner finished, Uncle Chuck said his goodbye and ruffled Sonic's head. "You be a good boy for your dad ok, Sonny?" the light blue hedgehog smiled as Sonic fake smiled at him. How Sonic wished he could just scream out the problem to his oblivious uncle. Though, how he could do it with his father in ear range? "I will Unc, see you next time…" Sonic replied as he watched his uncle closed the door behind him.

It was then that Sonic took off the handkerchief, revealing the wound that hid underneath.

His father gazed over at his son, fixing his stare at the knife wound.

"I thought I told you to keep your injuries hidden…"

"I did; I just exposed it right now…"

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

Sonic let out an aggravated sigh. "You saw me earlier. You kept your fucking stare on the fucking handkerchief; you know if the damn cloth fell off or not…" the blue hedgehog said in the calmest tone he could address his old man with. A pair of hands brought Sonic's head up in an upward direction, toward his father's piercing brown colored eyes. "What's with the attitude your giving me?"

"What fucking attitude?"

His father slapped his cheeks, hard. "That attitude…"

Sonic held in his tears as he just continued to stare right back at his dad.

"I'm waiting for an answer."

"You're not getting a damn thing from my mou—"

Sonic felt another slap on the cheek.

The two just stared back at each other as if it were a little game. Sonic's father growled, frisking his sons head away like it was paper. "Why don't you do something useful and do some of your homework instead of giving me a shitty attitude right now…" The older blue hedgehog said in disgust. Sonic clenched his fists in anger. How he wish he could just slap the man senseless.

Without any words in reply, Sonic left the table and headed straight towards his room where he would just continue tending to his own sorrow, and his father wouldn't give a single damn about checking up on him.

**x-x-x-x-x**

A loud yawn came from Sonic's mouth as Monday morning came upon him.

The blue hedgehog opened his eyelids as sunshine pierced his vision.

He got off of bed, rushing toward his closet. He picked out the usual collared shirt, jeans, and black hoodie from his closet. The collared shirt and jeans were used for the regular school code of dressing appropriate and professional, but the hoodie was used as a cover up for any bruises or cuts showing off on his arms or upper body.

He figured that if he wore a jacket of some sort, no one would ever suspect his pain. Boy, did it work like a charm. No student at his school ever noticed them at all.

As he finished zipping his hoodie, the blue hedgehog went ahead toward the front door. His father was no longer inside the house, thankfully. The man was now at his work of being a bartender in one of the local bars in town. Sonic remembered when he was only a little kid, he'd hear the sounds of his father's screams as beer bottles hit the floor like there was no tomorrow. Back then, it was frightening to Sonic, but now, the blue hedgehog had grown used to the daily routine and just went with it.

Opening the front door, the hedgehog walked out onto the porch and followed the pathway to school. He tightened his grip on his backpack as he reeled toward his mother's house. Apart of him felt like opening the door and just scream at her face for leaving, but another part of him felt like it was better this way.

Hey, at least his mother has a second chance on having the life she wanted.

Sonic sighed as he took up his speed at a running pace.

Running, now that's something the blue hedgehog always enjoyed doing. It was the only thing in the world that could take his mind off of all his problems for a long while. No matter how much his teachers' would encourage him, Sonic would never join track. Running, to him, was a personal hobby he'd do when he'd had enough of all the problems mobians gave him. The blue hedgehog didn't want to change the whole reason why he ran.

"Well, I'm here…" Sonic sighed, skidding to a stop. His school wasn't really that big, but it was a sufficient size building for a high school. It was painted white on the outside while flowers decorated the building from the ground to the windows. In the middle, there was a sign that read "Welcome to Green Hill High School" in all capital letters. Students were scattered around on campus either in groups of friends or just in pairs of two friends.

The blue hedgehog sighed once more; sometimes he wished he had a friend at school. Of course, who'd want to be friends with antisocial freak at school who was born with weird blue fur? Yeah, that's what he thought.

Taking a seat on the front steps, Sonic looked through his backpack. Scavenging through it, he found what he was looking for, a sharp knife that his father would use to threaten him when he was smaller. He smiled a little.

"No one will find out," Sonic said, pushing his sleeve upward so his wrist was visible.

As the knife inched closer to his wrist, he felt someone's hand stop him from doing so.

"The hell?" Sonic asked before looking to his left.

It was that red echidna he'd usually seen hanging out with his friends at one of the outside tables during lunch and after school. What was he doing here? "What the heck do you think you're doing?" he asked, a serious expression showing on his face. Sonic growled, pulling his arm back; he was careful enough to realize that he was still holding the knife. "Well?" the echidna questioned again. Sonic just stared back in annoyance.

"Why the fuck would you care?" the blue teen questioned.

"Why would I care? I care because you're practically doing THIS out in public!" The echidna said, being very careful of the volume of his voice. Sonic didn't give a reply as he settled the knife back in his backpack.

"Where do you think you're going?" Knuckles called after the retreating figure.

Stopping, Sonic looked back. "Somewhere, where you won't bother me…"

**To Be Continued**

Aha, didn't know I could be THAT torturous…

Sonic: *sipping some coke* You and your sick, twisted mind.

Knuckles: *cuddling against the Master Emerald* I love you~

Sonic and me: -.- Really?


	2. Chapter 2

Me: *holding Sonic in place* YOUR NOT ESCAPING!

Sonic: *pleading at viewers* SAVE ME! SHE'S GONE MAD!

Me: COWS, PUPPIES, RABBITS!

Knuckles: Guess, I shouldn't have given her sugar in the cereal box earlier…

Me: SANWHICH PIES!

**LoneWolf999:** A thousand comments, I think I'll just cry in sheer happiness if it does happen! Haha, well my sick, twisted mind will be happy to continue on.

**SonictheChristianHedgie:** Aha, probably I was being a bit overly dramatic with the language last chapter. Trust me, I'm not one to write like that, but when the power of motivation motivates me; I sort of get a little out of hand sometimes. Yes, I suppose so since Amy's technically a pink hedgehog, Knuckles is a red echidna, and Blaze is a purple cat xD Though everyone doesn't seem to care about those characters and the absurdity of their colors in the species. It's dark in the beginning, but it'll get fluffier and more light-hearted later :D

**xz:** Well, fine then…here's more of the story.

**Chapter 2**

As the day went on, Sonic found himself at fourth period, Earth Science. The class was in the middle of the usual quiz that the teacher would always give them each week on Monday. Like usual, no one bothered to study for the quiz, which seemed to be backfiring on them. Sonic, on the other hand, handled like a breeze. 'Come on, how hard is it to find three examples of foliated metamorphic rocks? There were ten listed in the book!' Sonic thought as he twirled his pencil, waiting for the teacher to collect the quizzes.

Sonic glanced up at the clock, thirty more minutes until the bell rang. He sighed quietly as he began to doodle something on the back of the quiz.

He wasn't really drawing anything in particular, just some scribbles that soon began to take shape into an object. Sonic never thought himself as a scribbling master; he doubted his pieces of trash were even worthy of being in the school's yearbook that came each year, besides, it wasn't like he was going to show them off freely anyway.

Sonic's ears twitched as he heard a conversation going on between two students at the far side of the room.

"Ali, I'm so excited! The school is prom is coming up soon!"

"Yeah, my dad's planning on being my escort. This can only end in disaster…"

"Oh, stop thinking negatively, Ali. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find a date in time!"

"Yeah, I was able to get Nic to agree with me…"

"Oh, lucky girl~"

Sonic rolled his eyes as he continued to doodle. What was so great about these high school proms anyway? It was just another school dance, just a bit flashier than the rest. Then again, what was he to judge if he never attended these so called 'dances'? For all Sonic knew, he was missing out on a lot of cool things, and like always, his thoughts were true.

Looking up, Sonic noticed that the teacher was already asking for the quizzes to be turned in. He shifted his quiz toward the student next to him, and that student passed the quizzes to the person who sat next to them, and so on and so on.

Once all the quizzes were stacked nicely on the brown desk in the front of the classroom, the lunch bell rang through the air.

"Enjoy your lunch everyone," the teacher said as most of the students were already outside the classroom.

As Sonic exited the classroom, he decided to head toward his next class, Geometry.

Snaking his way through the halls, the blue hedgehog stopped at the classroom labeled "Room 104". Two students were already inside, eating their lunch until fifth period started. A female squirrel sat at the back of the class grading fifth period's assigned homework on Thursday. Sonic took a deep breath as he entered the classroom. He set his backpack and binder on the third row, middle seat and scurried off toward the cafeteria. As much as the food looked inedible to his fellow students, Sonic found it as his only gourmet than what his dad cooked back home. At least here, the school believed in not serving the students burnt chicken or shriveled fish sticks.

As he entered the cafeteria, he ordered the usual pizza and soda the he'd asked every day. Without hesitations, Sonic seated himself in one of the empty booths far away from the other students.

He couldn't mingle; he couldn't break out of his comfort zone.

He was a social outcast for a reason.

"I can't believe my dad thought I love this new IPhone 5, ugh, I'd rather have a Samsung Galaxy, Adrianna!"

"My mom wants to spend time at the mall with me; I told her no because I had a date with Mikel the day we were supposed to hang out, Steph!"

"Doesn't my dad know I hate golf Joey; sheesh, why does he find it more interesting than football?"

Sonic snarled at all those comments the chattering voices were making. They were throwing away all the love their parents were giving them; the love he always wished for when he was a child. He always wished for the day where his father would just quit moping about his shattered life and spend some time with his little boy; that same little boy who just wanted to make his daddy happy. Sonic clenched his fist and mustered a tiny chuckle. He must've been that stupid enough to believe that wish could come true. "Growing up certainly has its own charms…" he said, letting a tear slide down his cheeks.

What do you know? No one saw it, perfect.

He wanted to keep it that way, less drama…

"Hey," that same red echidna from earlier called, sitting next to Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared at him. "What are you doing here all alone?" the crimson mobian asked, setting his arm on the table. Sonic remained silent. The echidna lifted an eyebrow; it was clear that the blue hedgehog was trying to get him to leave. "Really, the silent treatment? Look, I'm trying to invite you over to our table, and I can't really do that if you don't want to talk," he stated. Sonic raised his eye ridge before rolling his eyes. "Look, I see you sit here alone all the time. I know you have a problem with mingling with other people, but you sooner or later you're going to have to break out of the shy zone. Come on, please Sonic?" the echidna asked.

"H-how do you know my name? Not many people do…"

"Well one, your name tag says 'Sonic', and two, I have you for all my classes except seventh period. Who can I NOT know who you are?"

"Not many people talk to me really, even when we're assigned group projects, I tend to stay incredibly silent most of the time…"

"Well I am, and I for one want to be your friend."

Sonic's eyes widened. Friend? Someone actually wanted to be his friend? The blue hedgehog shook his head as he stood up. No, it's not true; he'd been used before, and he wasn't willing to go back there again. "Don't make me laugh; I, for one, know that nobody wants to be my friend. I've learned through experience, so please, just leave me alone…" he said leaving the echidna whose name tag read Knuckles.

Knuckles sighed, "He still can't forget about what Shadow did to him…"

**x-x-x-x-x**

Sonic sat outside the Geometry room as memories began to flood his mind.

_His father had done something he never thought possible; his father had actually aimed his pistol at the young ten year old hedgehog. Sonic was scared at the tone of voice his father used on him. "Keep your distance, and I won't push this trigger; I know my place, so you better know yours…" the older hedgehog had said._

_It was now lunch time, and all the kids were playing at the playground._

_Sonic sat alone on the bench, thinking back to what his father had said. He was utterly terrified._

_Suddenly, a red bouncing ball landed by him, this snapped Sonic back into reality. "Hey, can you pass the ball over here!" a black fox called out, waving his hands in the air._

_Sonic nodded as he kicked the ball back to where the kids were playing at._

"_Thanks!" a brown squirrel said before passing the ball to the white goat in front of her._

_Sonic couldn't help but smile at the sight. 'I bet their mommies and daddies would never point a gun at their own children…' he thought, playing with his feet. The blue hedgehog sighed as he took a look at his reflections in his shoes. "Daddy loves me, right?" he asked himself, unaware that an ebony hedgehog was standing right beside him. "You too huh?" the black hedgehog asked. Sonic fell over in surprise_

"_Haha, you're funny"_

"_Uh, thanks…"_

"_What's your name?"_

_Sonic picked himself up, "My name's Sonic."_

"_Pleasure to meet you, I'm Shadow."_

Shadow seemed like a nice kid to hang out with Sonic, and he was. They were like brothers, inseparable…

"_Leave him alone!" Shadow cried as Sonic was on the ground shedding tears. The two turtle twins let out a laugh. The ebony hedgehog stood tall and strong despite the mock he was receiving from the twins. "Hey bro, I never knew losers could stand up for babies at this time of day!" the female turtle cackled as she received a nod from her brother. It was then that Shadow stroke a block to the heads of the turtle. Luckily, the punch was able to land on their heads._

"_How's that for a loser?" Shadow snarled._

_The turtle twins hissed at the ebony hedgehog before running off toward the school's office to get their heads treated._

_Shadow quickly rushed to his friend's side. He was relieved to see that no serious harm was done to Sonic. "Shadow?" Sonic called; summoning the ebony hedgehog's attention towards him. "Thank you, so much…" the blue hedgehog smiled as Shadow just gave him a thumbs up._

"_What are friend's for Sonic?"_

…at least, that's what it seemed.

"_I have to hand it to you Shadow; the blue idiot is still completely clueless that you're just playing around with him…" Karla, twin sister of Bow, giggled as the three figures walked down the school hallways._

"_Yeah, he still doesn't know that you're just pretending to be his friend just for popularity!"_

_Shadow just smiled; he could see that spending time with that freak was finally paying him off. After he had told the school bullies about Sonic's past, the ebony hedgehog was finally getting some recognition in this building. He finally had a seat with the popular kids at lunch; talk about class! "Hey, we'll see you once school's finished. Bye Shadow!"_

"_Bye guys…"_

_Turning to his left, Shadow was about to make his way down the stairs when he suddenly saw a familiar pair of emerald green eyes staring right back at him. "Sonic, I…"_

"_I should've known you were just pretending. Why am I so stupid!?"_

"_Sonic, you're no—"_

"_No, I don't want to hear anymore! I trusted you Shadow; I thought our friendship was real. I thought I finally found someone who I could relate…guess I was wrong…"_

_With that Sonic ran past the ebony hedgehog toward his next class; Shadow couldn't help but feel guilty for Sonic, but what's done is done now. All he can hope now is too remain at the top of the food chain with the other popular kids._

Sonic wiped the tears from his eyes. Even though Shadow lost his spot at the top of the food chain, Sonic still refused to rekindle their broken friendship. What's happened has happened, no use in making something that's broken, work again like how it used to before. Suddenly, the fifth period bell rung through the halls as students walked out of the lunch room. Sonic stood up and entered Geometry class; all of his memories with Shadow forged at the back of his head.

**To Be Continued**

Me: *sleeping*

Sonic: Well, knock out gas worked!

Knuckles Up high!

*high five*

Knuckles: Down low!

*high five*

Knuckles: IN SPACE!

Sonic: IN YOUR FACE! *smacks Knuckles' head*

Knuckles: blagh x_x


	3. Chapter 3

Review replies!

**LoneWolf999:** Hmm, that's actually a good idea! I might actually use that scene for a possible Christmas-y special xD Oh no, the ultimate lifeform will be beaten by a fork, pwnage right there lol (Shadow: No fork can hurt me) *pokes him with a fork* (Shadow: Ow! Dang, are those things pointy…)

**Guest 1:** Well it's here :D

**SonictheChristianHedgie:** No they love me! (Sonic and Knuckles: Nu-uh!) Supportive… Yes, I hope so too D: Sonic's already been through enough!

**Guest 2:** hahahahahaHaHaHaHaHaMUAHAHAHAHAHA!...yes :D

**Chapter 3**

"Oh, the poor sweetheart…" said a white bat followed by a pink hedgehog and an orange fox. Knuckles looked back to see his three friends who has just witness the scene between him and Sonic.

The white bat wore a blue t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of white boots. She had a red name tag that read "Rouge" with a heart following after it. The pink hedgehog wore a red hair tie that held up her three back spikes. She wore a red t-shirt, a black skirt, and regular white sneakers. On her back, a giant hammer rested on a black strap just waiting to be used. Her name tag read "Amy Rose". The orange fox wore a blue jacket with red shorts that had yellow lining on the edges of them. Unlike Rouge and Amy, his name tag had a blue color than a red one, and it read "Miles Prower" though it was scribbled out by "Tails".

Knuckles sighed as straightened his white tank top underneath his gray jacket. "Well, he didn't take it too well," he explained, standing up from the table. Rouge sighed, she thought that the invitation might have worked, guess it didn't. "So, what now?" asked Tails, flicking his bangs upward to his forehead.

"What else? We have to find some other way to convince him that life isn't just trash!" Amy said in triumph, bringing out her Piko Piko Hammer. Tails literally jumped back in surprise while Knuckles put his hands out in front of him in defense. "Oh Amy, put that thing away! You're scaring the boys to death hun," Rouge lightly giggled as the echidna and fox took their time to glare at her, "Besides, I've seen these cases before, oh yes. More than likely, Sonic will just keep on ignoring us until he can't take the pressure of being watched constantly. He'd want to end it all right there, oh, and the kid's such a sweet boy…"

"And he isn't going to end it all there…I'll be sure of that," Knuckles stated flatly.

Amy, Rouge, and Tails all shared an equal amount of glances before looking back at their crimson furred friend.

"Knuckles…are you sure you can keep that promise? I mean, there wasn't always just the four of us hanging out together…" Tails asked shakily.

There was a moment of silence as bad memories haunted the quad of four. Oh yes, there wasn't always just the four of them…but five. Who was the fifth member of the group? Her name was Tikal, Tikal the Echidna. She was an innocent soul; the orange echidna would stop at nothing to make her friends laugh. Her future was bright; nothing could stop it from happening, that is, almost nothing.

Who could have thought that a walk home from school would change everything…

Knuckles clenched his fists. No, he won't let it happened again. He already lost someone who he never got to confess his feelings for; what more is it to just let a lonely blue hedgehog stay in never ending darkness? The echidna lost his train of thought as he walked outside the cafeteria trying to consume his anger before he lost control of it. Rouge sighed as she told Amy and Tails to stay there while she tried her best to comfort her friend. It wasn't easy being the only echidna in the school.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"Alright class, before we run out the classroom and to our cars, we are having our third book report this year. All of you must find a book that's about 275 pages long, and make a spider graph comparing each main event that's portrayed in the book. Alright, have a nice day!" the English teacher said while dodging the crowd of excited students. As Sonic collected all his stuff, Knuckles came up to him. "Hey," the red echidna said coolly.

"Didn't I get rid of you at lunch?" Sonic stated coldly, placing his backpack on his back.

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "I told you, I'm just trying to be your friend."

The blue hedgehog chuckled before walking out of the classroom. After all he said, that echidna just couldn't leave him alone. Sonic knew that Knuckles was trying to gain his trust; he chose to ignore it though. After all the hell he's been through, the only person that he could trust was himself. No, perhaps, not even his own self. It would take a miracle for the blue hedgehog to find happiness like how he did when he still saw Shadow as his best friend.

Sometimes, he still wished that it had last only a little longer. It was nice not having to worry about his life back at home all the time.

"You know a goodbye would've been better."

"What's the difference between the two?"

"One of them is more pleasant than the other."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Well I wasn't born to please you to your liking," the blue hedgehog stated, maneuvering through the school's long hallway. "Who said that I wanted you to please me?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. The blue hedgehog glanced back at him, his emerald eyes made contact with Knuckles' purple ones. "A little birdie snitched," Sonic said before picking up his speed, to which the echidna followed suit.

'What part of leaving me alone doesn't this guy understand?' Sonic thought as he tried to lose the echidna behind him.

Things didn't seem to work as Knuckles leaped up and was able to land on the blue hedgehog. Sonic struggled to get up, but the echidna was just too strong for him. "Get, the hell, off of me!" Sonic nearly shouted at Knuckles. The crimson figure just sighed as he flipped the blue hedgehog on his back. "You better not be thinking of raping me!" Sonic hissed, ready to bite the echidna.

Knuckles made a face of disgust, he'd never swing that way nor did he even want to.

Placing his hands on Sonic's shoulders, Knuckles brought Sonic close to his face. They stayed like that until Sonic decided to break the silence. "Well? Are you just going to stare at me like a brick wall, or are you going to tell me what you want to tell me," the blue hedgehog said rather impatient.

"Uh," Knuckles paused, "I know you said to leave you alone and all—"

"Now, wouldn't that be lovely if you just followed those words like a book," Sonic smiled.

Knuckles frowned for being interrupted, but soon found his way back to his question. 'I was wondering if we can work on the, uh, book report in a group with me," he finished.

"Sorry, but I prefer to work solo."

"Oh come on, give it a try. I always see you alone, why not come?"

"The fact that I can't mingle for shit is my only excuse."

"Then why not, let me help you with your tiny problem."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Why do you want ME to help you out anyways? It's not like I'm a special student or anything…" the blue hedgehog stated. By this time, Knuckles had already stood up and was now looking down upon the blue figure on the floor. Sonic took this time to stand up. "Well, no, not that, but you're one of the smartest students in our grade. I would appreciate the help," Knuckles told him. Sonic just stared at him, then, he closed his eyelids.

He was in deep thought.

Knuckles was starting to get a tad anxious for Sonic's answer, and the reaction was exactly what Knuckles had expected.

"Thanks for the offer, I guess, but I can't take it. Look, I have to go, my uncle's waiting for me…" the blue hedgehog said as he walked away from Knuckles and out the door.

"Oh well, you tried Knuckie…" Rouge cooed from above the lockers. "But I think your approach was a tad unnecessary," the bat snickered. Knuckles blushed and elbow nudged her arm. The white bat couldn't help but laugh. "Shut up, will you Rouge? You know I do stupid stunts all the time," the crimson echidna huffed, trying to keep his cool. The white bat couldn't help laugh, "At least someone admits it!"

Knuckles just growled in response.

"Oh relax Knuckles, come on, Amy and Tails are waiting for us at the usual fast food joint!" Rouge clapped her hands as she dragged Knuckles to the restaurant by his long, red dreadlocks hanging from his head.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"Tails, if you really like the girl, why don't you just talk to her? I'm sure Cream wouldn't mind…" Amy said, leaning on one of the columns of the restaurant. Tails sighed heavily as he stopped pacing back and forth. "Amy, how many times must I say it. I don't LIKE her THAT way, I just feel bad that she hasn't gotten a date to the upcoming school's dance…" the orange, two tailed fox explained.

"Then why don't you ask her?"

"Well, 'sides you and Rouge, I can't talk to girls for crap…" Tails said, blushing a little.

Amy just giggled.

Suddenly, a chorus of loud groans and growls could be heard from behind them as Amy and Tails saw Rouge dragging Knuckles toward the restaurant. "Oh dear, looks like Rouge is doing it again…" said Amy who was trying her best to smile. Tails nodded while laughing uneasily. "YOU BAT, LET GO OF MY DAMN DREADLOCKS BEFORE I BITE YOU!" Knuckles growled loudly, though Rouge didn't take it as seriously as the enraged echidna did.

"My, my, Knuckie, aren't we desperate to get laid!" the albino bat giggled as she dodged a swing from the red echidna.

"I hope it isn't with you—OW, HEY, WATCH YOUR PULLING! I'D STILL LIKE MY DREADLOCKS TO STAY INTACT WITH MY HEAD!" Knuckles shouted once more, attempting to tackle his friend. When it came to Rouge, the guy rule of 'never hit a girl' was forbidden. He still could never understand how they became best friends at all considering how much they threaten each other to a fist fight.

Well, then again, Rouge is the playful type while the crimson echidna took matters a tad dramatically. Hmm, maybe there was a reason…opposites attract you know!

"Tails get the door! Amy, help me get this knucklehead inside before he bites me!" Rouge called, dodging another fist attack from said echidna.

**x-x-x-x-x**

The four mobians were sitting at their usual booth. The guys sat on one side of the table while the girls sat on the other side. Knuckles was still mad at Rouge while the white bat tried to talk her out of it. Tails and Amy were still sharing their previous conversation they had outside, very quietly of course.

It took about ten minutes for the food to come by. The four teenagers' face froze for a few seconds as the server boy's face was revealed to them. He was a blue hedgehog with six quills on his forehead. Instead of wearing a black hoodie like before, he wore a red employee jacket. His emerald green eyes stared back at Knuckles' purple amethyst ones. It wasn't long until said echidna decided to break the awkward staring moment.

"Sonic, what are you doing here?"

"I work here, why else?"

"I thought you were with your unc—"

"My uncle usually drops me here since my dad can't take me."

"But, it's after school…why would you—"

Suddenly a loud yell came from the kitchen of the restaurant, "Come on server boy, people are starting to get impatient for their food! I'm sure you don't want me to get impatient with the pace you're working!"

Sonic sighed as he placed the trays of food on the booth and left Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, and Amy alone still shocked from what had just took place. They watched the blue hedgehog retreat into one of the doors that were marked 'staff only' and come back out with two trays of food in both hands. Amy and Rouge couldn't help but feel sorry for the blue teen while Knuckles and Tails were trying to understand why he has a job especially one that occurred on a school night. Considering Sonic's grades, the hedgehog must've been very stressed enough with all the projects that school was spilling out to them, though, he didn't seem to be tired at all.

'Something's up…but what?' thought Knuckles as took his gaze off Sonic.

**To Be Continued**

What's the secret? WELL I'M NOT TELLING ANY OF YOU...that is, if you can get me to talk *eyes dart left and right*

Sonic: *reading a book*

NO! *grabs the book and looks at the cover* Really Sonic, Hunger Games?

Sonic: *blushes and looks away* It's an unhealthy obsession ok!?

Knuckles: GET BACK HERE WITH MY EMERALD!

Rouge: *air kisses the echidna and flies out to the horizon*

Hey, when did we get a horizon in the house?

Sonic: You downloaded that horizon in your house programs… *continues to read Hunger Games*

Oh yeah…I remember now


	4. Chapter 4

Review Replies! Woo, we have broken 4 reviews on a chapter; the record is now 6!

**Raphaelplusmikey:** lol yeah, you're not.

**LoneWolf999:** STOP BEING LAZY TO LOG IN! You know you want a horizon downloaded house :D

**BleeKitten:** Eh heh, the author's notes were just to bring up the mood. Thanks, the idea of this story has been tackling me head on for months on end, I'm quite glad I'm doing it now.

**Manicpanicgirl:** Does this fix the problem of having just three chapters? *wink**wink*

**Guest:** Considering I may never bring Tikal up in the story ever again, think about her past in Sonic Adventure, and then you'll understand what happens to her xD

**SonicChristianHedgie:** There are some obsessions that even a hero has to keep! Yes, Tikal died since I won't bring her up again (though only in flashbacks) just think about Sonic Adventure. That's how it happened.

**Chapter 4**

It was already near closing time, and Sonic was sitting on one of the tables just working on his homework like usual. An old owl came out from the kitchen; he wore a white apron and a white chef hat. He was covered with brown feathers though a section of light brown feathers surrounded his eyeballs. He had black, long eyebrows that stretched out from his face. "Son, why don't you just take a break once in a while? I can hire my son to fill in as the server boy, you know," the owl said as he grabbed the broomstick in the cleaning closet.

Sonic looked up, "No, it's alright Al, I don't really mind working here on school nights. It's better than being at home with my dad..."

The old owl looked at his employee. "I thought your dad comes home at midnight?"

"Not anymore, he's been able to get home at 7:30 pm nowadays since his buddy is like the head-owner now…"

"Ah, I see… Is he still a drinker?"

Sonic stayed silent for a few seconds until he responded to his boss. "Yeah, I guess he's gotten better, but he still wakes up screaming his anger out and throwing glass bottles around the house. Sometimes, I just wish he was just like one of those normal fathers; though, I'd be asking for a miracle aren't I?"

Al sighed as he took a seat down with the blue teen. At this time, Sonic has put his pencil down as he let his mind race. He might've not gone through the same thing his employee went through, but he did have his own son whose relationship with him has been one hell of a roller coaster. "I believe you would be asking for a miracle there, son. I mean, people just don't wake up and change like the snap of two fingers. Why, it takes time for them to notice what they've been doing all this time," the old owl said, placing his white chef hat on the table.

"Like I don't know that now?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms.

"Well no, through your experience, you should know your whether your dad has the will to change or not, but that doesn't mean you should give up all hope on a happy ending."

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes. "Happy ending? What happy ending? Last I checked, happy endings exist only movies and fairy tales; they never happen in real life…" Sonic replied frowning. Sure, he used to think that happy endings were real, and one day he'd find his own, but as the blue hedgehog matured, he found it hard to believe that such a thing still existed.

Al just stared back at Sonic with a tiny smile. "Maybe, if you stopped being so pessimistic about the topic, your happy ending will come. Besides, as a wise young man once said, 'One day, you'll be old enough to start reading fairy tales again'." The owl said as he got up and continued to clean the restaurant.

Sonic just scoffed at the thought. Happy endings…happy endings his blue tail. He knew for a fact that there was no happy ending in store for him. For all he knew, his father was planning on killing him before he even got the chance to leave that hell hole of a house. If that were the case, his old man should hurry up with the damn plotting and just do it. It's not like Sonic would think the idea wasn't bad, well, to some it was an unspeakable abomination, but the blue hedgehog wouldn't care. It's not like his life was going to get any better than what it was now.

"Al…I think I better head home now, the beast will be wondering where I am…" Sonic said as he packed up his stuff and headed out the door.

The old owl waved goodbye as he still continued sweeping the floor.

On the way home, Sonic couldn't help but let old memories flash through his head. Just remembering them…how could a happy ending be predicted? He was haunted by anger, fear, and betrayal all his life; he had completely forgotten what made fairy tales so sweet and happy. "I wonder…what mom would say to me if she ever saw me so down like this… Gah, why do I fucking care!? She left; she chose to stay out my life," tears flowed down Sonic's cheek as he said those words.

Thinking about his mother, was never such an easy thing for the young hedgehog. All Sonic ever wanted was to meet her and finally rekindle a bond that never was. Of course, holding onto a childhood dream was…quite silly. As the hedgehog grew older, he learned things were just better off this way.

Though, the thought that if he just heard her say those three little words to him…it would've made his life seem a little brighter than it usually was.

"For crying out loud, STOP THINKING ABOUT HER!" Sonic yelled at himself. More tears escaped his eye sockets as he dropped to his knees.

"_A locket?" Sonic asked as the young eight year old hedgehog picked up the circle shaped object._

_He was currently in his father's room. The older hedgehog was currently running an errand, so Sonic took the time to explore for a little while._

Sonic clenched his eyelids together as more tears ran down his muzzle.

_Opening the locket, the blue hedgehog saw a picture of a female hedgehog. She was very beautiful in his eyes. She had her hair in a ponytail as her bangs flowed from the side. Her eyelids were half open in the picture. Sonic couldn't help but feel a bell ringing in his head. "She seems so familiar…I don't know why though," the young hedgehog whispered to himself._

"_I thought I told you to never come in here…" a gruff voice said from behind._

_Sonic's eyes widened in fear as he looked at the source that was emitting the voice from behind. He bent his ears and whimpered in fear._

Punching a nearby brick wall, Sonic let out an angered scream. "Stop it, just fucking stop it right now!" he yelled punching the wall again. His knuckles bled, but he didn't care. He always figured that pain was the only thing that could relieve his sorrow just a little bit. Sonic smiled as he saw his blood lingered down his hands toward the ground.

"This is my happy ending right here, just using pain to distract my sorrow…"

**x-x-x-x-x**

"I'M SO DAMN HAPPY BITCH!"

"FUCK IT, MR. 1st PLACE! I'M GOING TO WIN THIS FREAKING RACE EVEN IF IT TAKES ME THREE GREEN SHELLS TO KICK YOUR SORRY ASS!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

"THAT'S IT! TAILS USE YOUR DAMN BLUE SHELL!"

"Uh…ok!"

With a click of the 'x' button, Tails sent out a flying blue shell through the large course of Wario Coliseum. Knuckles was now sweating as he tried to overcome the last boost leap from the finish line. The sound of the flying death shell was rearing up fast as Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong (Knuckles) were just inches away from the finish line. Yoshi and Daisy (Rouge) was rearing from behind while Paratoopa and Mario (Amy) along with King Boo and Waluigi (Tails) lagged behind.

Knuckles was able to cross the finish line as the blue shell attack from behind. The echidna cheered with joy as Rouge just grumbled, taking 2nd place.

"Aw yeah! Whose your damn Double Dash Master now!?"

"Oh will you be quiet while I think of how to killechidna you?"

"I told you guys we should've been in teams…" Amy sighed, smiling nervously.

Tails laughed at the two's fighting while he agreed they should work in teams now. The bat just slapped the happy-go-lucky echidna's face as she nodded with a satisfied smile. "What do you say Knuckie? Let's be on a team together!" The albino bat smiled, clasping her hands together. The echidna just whimpered as he nodded, hoping that his answer wouldn't receive another fist to the face move.

"Dibs on freaking Paratroopa!"

"No fair Tails!"

"And you guys say that WE fight over the dumbest things—huh?" the echidna asked as he squinted his eyes out the window. There was something out in the streets…looking like it was dead. Stepping closer to the window, Knuckles still couldn't identify who it was.

"Hey guys, we might want to check that thing out over there…" Knuckles announced as he swore he already heard the dramatic creepy music of 'DUN DUN DUN' that were usually played in the movies.

**x-x-x-x-x**

Sonic stirred awake as he felt touched him. "What do you think Tails?" a voice asked, slightly pressing on something wet on his forehead. Another voice seemed to mutter words out before there was a slight pause.

"Judging his steady pulse, he'll be fine. I just want to know how he got his hands so bloody…"

Opening his blue eyelids, Sonic's vision was blurred as all he could see was a blotch of red and orange in front of him.

"Hey, Knuckles, he's awake!" the second voice cried.

The red echidna looked down to see the dizzy hedgehog awake, trying his best to focus his vision. "W-what's going on?" Sonic asked as he felt a massive headache over take him. Knuckles bent down to his knees in order to reach the younger one's height. "Don't move too much, you seem pretty weak from the blood lost from your hands. You're at Rouge's place, relax, we're not going to hur—" the red echidna felt a hand grab his collar and pulled him forward.

"Talk to me like I'm some weak kid again, and I'll make sure your white crescent isn't the only mark on your damn chest…GOT IT!?" Sonic hissed as Knuckles forced a nod along with some sweat of nervousness.

"Well, glad his personality hasn't been corrupted…" Tails muttered quietly enough for Sonic to not hear his comment.

Said hedgehog, then let go of the echidna by pushing him three feet from him. Sad to say, Knuckles wasn't quite light on his feet as he fell over onto the coffee table. "Well, why not throw me down a volcano pit to my torturous death…" Knuckles grumbled, getting up. Sonic smiled, letting out a tiny chuckle, "I'll keep the idea in mind."

"Why you little skunk!"

"I'm a hedgehog not a skunk dipshit," Sonic corrected, holding his head to stop the fuzziness in his emerald eyes.

"Alright, that's quite enough you two!" Rouge shouted in order to get their full attention, "Now, Amy and I are making dinner. Once we're finished, Sonic will explain to us what happened earlier."

Sonic raised his eyebrow, "What makes you think I'll do that?"

The bat just smiled "Now, what's the fun if I tell you?"

Sonic exchanged curious stares with Knuckles and Tails who signaled the hedgehog to just go with what the bat said…or else something would happen. Their faces held a mixture of fear. "Uh, okay, we can go with your plan…I guess," Sonic said as Rouge left the room and headed back to the kitchen.

**To Be Continued**

Sonic: *sleeping in bed with his toy crocodile*

Aw, doesn't he look so precious sleepi—KNUCKLES ARE YOU MAD!?

Knuckles: *chuckling while holding an air horn* YES MAN!

Uh…Alright guys, since I'm about to break up a fight in a few seconds here. I'd like to thank you all for reading and reviewing. Keep those two up, and there'll surely be a new chapter up soon. Bye!

Knuckles: *blows air horn* HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!


	5. Chapter 5

**Raphaelplusmikey:** Haha, yeah, I guess I should've played with Sonic's little attitude fit for a while longer xD

**Guest:** Thank you, here is the next update!

**LoneWolf999:** Yes, I'm completely satisfied now lol Knuckles, we have your Master Emerald, don't think of killing my reviewer! (Knuckles: CURSE YOU…SONIC FANFIC WRITERS!)

**SonictheChristianHedgie:** I know it's so cute right xD Well, they do play a little hardcore when it comes. I actually saw that quote on a picture while looking through google!

**Manicpanicgirl:** Here is the next update!

**1vampireAlpha52:** No, not Shadow! Well then again, he did make Sonic sad for a long while… I know right? I want to see more fics of Sonic's darker attitude… Of course, I must be the won that starts the outbreak :D

**Chapter 5**

"Quit it…"

"No."

"Stop touching my head!"

Knuckles growled as he tried to press the wet cloth onto Sonic's head. Of course, the blue hedgehog wasn't cooperating with him…like usual.

"Stay still!"

"Freaking, stop touching me!"

The echidna sighed in irritation as he pushed the violent blue hedgehog down. Sonic kept thrashing as he felt a wet cloth being pressed down his forehead. "Would you quit struggling? I'm trying to help you, staying out in the rain while it's nighttime can get you sick you know?" Knuckles explained. Emerald eyes just glared at his figure.

Knuckles sighed.

"Come on, can you just tell me why you hate me so much?"

Sonic just continued to glare. He attempted to pick up his legs, his motions slow and clumsily. Luckily, the red echidna caught on with this attempt to kick him, and he slammed Sonic's leg back down. To his surprise, Sonic didn't make any noises of pain. The blue hedgehog's emerald, green eyes still fixed on him. "Breaking me is impossible echidna, now, leave me alone!" Sonic shouted as he was able to kick the echidna out of his personal space and nearly crashing the GameCube on the floor.

The echidna just groaned in anger.

Very soon, he would be ready to throw this hedgehog out into the streets; the echidna was starting to get tired of having a heart for this pain in the ass.

But then again, Knuckles would be go back on his promise to his friends on protecting the guy from causing any more damage to himself than he needed to.

"Dinner is ready everyone!" Amy chimed as she and Rouge placed plates of food on the coffee table.

Tails came down stairs after having a talk with his mom about sleeping over with his friends for the night. The two tailed fox had trouble convincing her due to it being a school night, but he was able to manage it nicely.

"Knuckie, what are you doing down there?" Rouge asked, helping her friend up from the floor.

"If I said anything, that little devil will find a way to shut me up…" the red echidna hissed. He looked ready to kill the blue hedgehog on the couch who just gave an innocent stare.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"Stop it, I can feed myself…" Sonic hissed as Knuckles tried to give him a spoon filled with soup. The echidna shook his head as he tried his best to get Sonic to drink the soup.

Rouge rolled her eyes as she pushed Knuckles away from the full bowl of chicken noodle soup.

The albino bat took a look at Sonic who just kept on staring, his frown never disappearing. She sighed as she pressed rewetted the wash cloth on his forehead. "Come on sweetie, at least try to eat with someone helping. Your hands seem to loss some amount of blood, thus making your motions clumsy and slow. Please?" Rouge asked, smiling. Sonic just closed his eyes, looking like he wanted to disappear from reality for a while.

Rouge rolled her eyes, "Look mister, if you don't eat this soup, I swear on from the fur on redhead's back that I will hunt you down and give you a piece of lightning and thunder."

"Sure, go ahead, not like I give a shit anyway…"

"Why wouldn't you give a shit? I'm practically threatening you to eat soup!"

Sonic just gazed at the floor. "Threatening me to eat soup is not the worse any of you saps can do to me, in all honesty, that is the weakest form of cruelty I have ever seen in my life," the blue hedgehog said.

"What are you implying? You've seen worst?"

"Duh, stupid. There's a reason why I said what I said…" Sonic replied, rolling his eyes.

Rouge contemplated this sentence as she placed a hand on her chin. Something was up, she could feel it. There has to be a way to get the blue hedgehog to keep on talking. "Hey Knuckles, can we talk in the kitchen really quick? Amy, try and get Sonic to at least drink one spoon of this soup, and Tails, keep an eye on these two…" the albino bat explain, pulling the echidna by his dreadlocks into the kitchen.

"Well Sonic, open up!"

"Make me…"

"Why me?" Amy sighed as she tried to get the spoon into Sonic's mouth.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"WOMAN, QUIT PULLING ON MY DANG DREADLOCKS!" Knuckles roared as the two made their way into the kitchen.

"Shush Knuckie, I know you want to know why Sonic's acting the way he is. I have a plan, so shut up…"

**x-x-x-x-x**

Tails was trying the best he can from keeping Amy bashing Sonic with her large hammer in her hands. The blue hedgehog just stuck his tongue out while Amy let out a growl of hostility. "Tails let me go, I'm going to show this hedgehog what it means to give some freaking respect!" the pink hedgehog roared as she still tried to break free from the fox's grip.

That was when Knuckles and Rouge came out of the kitchen, both acting casual as ever. Sonic, of course, didn't let his guard down.

"We're back," Rouge said, taking a seat near Sonic. "I see you haven't been the best hedgehog since we left," the white bat announced, glancing at the obviously fuming Amy being held by Tails.

Sonic cocked his eyebrow.

"What the hell are you up too?" he asked, trying to sit up, but he was pushed back down.

"Oh relax Mr. Grumpyhog, I'm not up too anything. All I want is to help you recover!"

"Freaking bull, what are you up to—"

Sonic was never able to finish that sentence as he felt Rouge push the spoon filled with warm soup into his mouth. The blue hedgehog was caught surprise as the white bat just smiled, offering more to him.

Near the front door, away from the couch were Sonic was sitting, Knuckles was making his way to the blue hedgehog's backpack. He felt bad looking through someone else's privacy without their permission, but they had to find a reason why Sonic was acting this way. Looking back, the echidna made sure no one was looking. He unzipped the zipper of the red, black pattern backpack and began to scavenge through it.

_School books, no._

_Pencil bag, no._

_Notebook, no._

_Water bottle, no._

_Wallet with no money in it, dang…the guy's poor. Gah, stay on task Knuckles!_

_Knife he used to cut himself, uh…I guess we can check this out!_

_Pokemon games, hey he has Pokemon Yellow…WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY STUPID! STAY ON TASK!_

_Huh, a binder…let's look through it!_

Taking out the binder, Knuckles began to flip through all the papers. Most of the papers were just past assignments with good scores on them, though he couldn't help but stare at one of the homework papers they were given in Geometry earlier in the year.

On the bottom it read, 'Screw this, screw all the good scores; it's not like I'll make it to college anyways…'

On another assignment, the top of the paper read, 'No matter how good I do, dad still won't take the time to notice at all. I just want to quit now and leave.'

Knuckles' eyes widened at these comments. Perhaps, even if Sonic was a smart student, maybe, he didn't have the most perfect life the echidna had thought throughout the years of being his classmate. The echidna nearly jumped as he heard slow, clumsy footsteps heading to the front door. Quickly, the echidna took the two assignments out onto the floor and put the binder back into the backpack.

Sonic, was walking toward his backpack, trying his best to ignore the dizziness in his eyes.

"Uhh…here!" Knuckles said, handing the black and red backpack to the hedgehog. Sonic frowned as he took a glance at his bag.

"Why is it unzipped?

"Oh, something fell from your backpack while we carried you in. I just noticed now when I went to get it for…you," the red echidna mentally slapped himself. Why'd he say that? "How did you know I was going to leave?" Sonic asked, a little suspicious. Knuckles closed his eyelids as a thought came to his head. "Please, with the way you've been treating me so far, the sight of you leaving was highly predictable! Now, go on ahead! Git!"

The blue hedgehog still held a confused expression on his face, but he shrugged it off. Opening the front door, Sonic turned to the echidna and gave a barely visible wave of the hand, signaling a goodbye.

The door then closed as Knuckles was left there, holding the two pieces of paper and knife behind his hands.

"Did you get something Knuckie?" Rouge asked, walking out from the living room.

Knuckles nodded as he let the showed Rouge the some interesting pieces of facts he found in Sonic's backpack.

**To Be Continued**

Knuckles: Oh come on it was funny!

Sonic: *in the middle of a silent treatment* Acay, tell Knuckles that I have no wishes to speak to him!

Knuckles: Well Acay, tell Sonic that if he wants to tell me something, SAY IT TO MY DANG FACE!

*singing* Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?

Sonic and Knuckles: Shut up.

Ouch, anyways, leave a review for me guys and tell me what you think! More reviews equals quicker updates from me!


	6. Chapter 6

**Raphaelplusmikey:** I'm not planning to put any Sonic Couples in this story since I really want to be different from the people who usually write 'girl is abused, boy helps her, girl ends up falling in love with him' scenario and vice versa. Thanks, I try my best to execute Sonic's grumpiness and stubborn attitude toward the others xD

**SonictheChristianHedgie:** Knuckles? Having patience? I don't think that's going to happen.

**SpiritofSilverWater:** I know right? I mean I like the 'Mr. Sunshine' attitude he always has, but I'm pretty sure there's a dark side to every hero.

**RasenganMaster:** I'll think about it xD For now, 1700-2000 words sounds fair enough.

**LoneWolf999:** You're really persistent in this lol If I do add Silver and Blaze, they'll either come later in the story or only have a cameo for about a few chapters and leave. Will they? I'm not sure, it depends on what I think later on.

**Enigmatic Porcupine:** Thanks, always glad to see another story follower!

**Chapter 6**

Sonic open the front door quietly, a little creaking sound echoing through the house. Heavy snores could be heard from his father's bedroom. He was asleep, thankfully. "Alright, let me just get something to eat then I'll eat in my bedroom…" the blue hedgehog said, walking ever so audibly into the kitchen. Wrapping together his sandwich, Sonic hurried onto his bedroom.

Closing the door, Sonic turned on his laptop that his uncle had bought him during summer break. The Wi-Fi was terrible where they lived, so Sonic could only watch two YouTube videos an hour.

After watching four videos in the duration of two hours, Sonic took a glance at the clock. It was already 11:00pm. "Huuuuh…might as well finish up the rest of my homework before I get to bed," the blue hedgehog told himself as he grabbed his backpack.

Finishing up his homework, Sonic packed his stuff and went straight to bed. It was already midnight by the time sleep overtook him.

Talk about a day in his life…

**x-x-x-x-x**

As the morning sun shined through the windows, Sonic sat up, shading his eyes. He could hear talking downstairs; sounds like his uncle and his dad were fighting. He was curious as to why but decided against it. Getting up, Sonic quickly made his way to his closet and got dressed. Instead of a black hoodie, the blue hedgehog was now wearing a yellow colored hoodie. Hey, not every sad person HAS to where gloomy colors all the time. Sonic enjoyed having both light and dark colors in his wardrobe; it made him feel the least bit normal.

Heading downstairs, Sonic saw a few shards of glass in the ground. Looks like his father lost his temper…again. Once he reached the last step, the blue hedgehog saw his uncle storming out of the kitchen with an angry expression on his face.

"Come on Sonic, I'm dropping you off today since your lousy father won't do it anyways!"

"Would you hurry up and leave already?" a gruff voice called from the kitchen.

"As if me leaving is going to change anything!" Chuck said, hurrying Sonic to the front door, zipping up his backpack in the process. He then slammed the door shut in obvious anger.

"What blew your fuse?" Sonic asked as he opened the backseat door of the car.

Chuck sighed, "Your father's been pushing too many buttons on my skull. He knows how mad I can get when he goes too far…"

"What did he say?"

His uncle never answered that question. Sonic tilted his head in curiosity, but decided to change the subject quickly.

"Hey Unc…"

"Yeah Son?"

"Can we…go get ice cream later? It's been years since I last had some good rocky road ice cream…"

Chuck smiled, nodding.

**x-x-x-x-x**

As Sonic waved goodbye to his uncle, the blue hedgehog quickly entered the school gate. He had his yellow hood up as he made his way into the building. Sonic was hoping he wouldn't run into that echidna and his crew. Sure, they helped him out, but the line had to be drawn somewhere. He still couldn't trust other people. It would just hurt in the long run.

Besides, he heard tons of lies in the past; what's the point in having more?

"I better lay low…" Sonic muttered as he unlocked his locker combination. He took out all his essential books before closing it once again.

"Lay low for what?" Knuckles asked, leaning into the blue hedgehog from behind. Sonic scrambled in fright as he dropped his books to the ground. "How the heck did YOU get there?" he asked, pointing at the red echidna. Knuckles just shrugged replying with a simple 'oh, I just come and go, ya know?' Bending down, the echidna picked up Sonic's book and handed them to the blue hedgehog.

"Uh…thanks, I guess…" Sonic said before walking off to his first period class.

_Oh, we're getting there…he's no longer throwing remarks at least!_ Knuckles thought before following Sonic from behind. _Though something still bugs me; what was with those notes? Why would he talk smack about his dad? Huh, the kid surely is something else…_ The echidna was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts as he bumped into his friend, Rouge.

"Well, Knuckie…I've been doing some investigating on those little 'hints' you gave me—"

"Found a conclusion?"

"Whoa Knuckles, slow down…I'm not that smart! Though, something tells me that there's a bump in the father and son relationship!"

_No shit, Sherlock. You'd think that when you read the notes for the first time!_ The echidna commented mentally while rolling his pupils in a full circle.

Rouge took a deep breath. "Though, there's something else that caught my mind while staying up late at night…" the albino bat said.

"What?"

"Could it be possible that Sonic's getting hurt when no one has a clue about it?"

Knuckles placed a hand on his chin. The question was a little mind breaking, but then again, that could have been the case as to why Sonic never really wanted him around. "Could be…or he's going through a depression phase," Knuckles said, knocking on the bat's skull. Rouge huffed loudly before turning her back towards the echidna in an irritated fashion.

_Was it something I said or is she on her 'special time of the month' mode?_ Knuckles pondered with a confused expression.

"Knuckie, I'm sure he won't be in a depression state if he wrote notes like 'my dad will never notice'," Rouge huffed once more before walking off to her own locker.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"HI SONIC!" Amy called from the classroom as she bear hugged the blue hedgehog like a craze fan would. Sonic growled in irritation as he tried effortlessly to get the pink hedgehog off of him. "Oh come on Sonic, I forgive you for putting me in utter torture last night!" the pink hedgehog smiled.

"I didn't ask for your forgiveness…"

"Aw…how sad!"

"Too bad…" Sonic said as he pushed her off of him and headed for his desk. Amy just sighed and smiled. _One day hedgehog, yes one day. I'll find a way to make you happy!_ Amy thought while she seated herself into one of the front row desk; Amy then set her piko piko hammer next to her seat, the handle facing up.

Sonic was seated in one of the back row, side desks. He always felt…unwatched at the corner. Come on, he only had to worry about one single student sitting next to him. How bad could that get? Unfortunately, it went bad as soon as he found one of the echidna's friends. It was that two tailed fox with orange fur…Tails was his name right?

"Hey Sonic!" Tails greeted with a smile.

_Don't answer, don't answer…_

"Hi…Tails?"

The fox's eyes widened a little from shock. He wasn't expecting the blue hedgehog to answer back, nonetheless speak to him. "Hey, you know my name! Haha, cool…" Tails laughed nervously. He didn't know how to respond right.

"Yes, I guess so. How have you been?" Sonic asked trying to avoid the awkwardness created.

"Fine actually, I've been inventing some new machines I've had ideas for a lo—you think I'm boring now huh?" the two tailed fox frowned.

"No, not at all. You like inventing stuff?"

"Boy, do I! The power of technology always empowers me!"

Sonic nodded, "Interesting…"

So, the two just sat there conversing little by little. Tails noted that Sonic was a tad intimidated with the whole 'mingling' thing to which Knuckles had told him about earlier. Though it was nice just talking to each other, sure Tails did most of it, but at least the fox was having a somewhat better time at conversing than Knuckles.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"WOOHOO!" Sonic the hedgehog cried as he and his buddy Tails flashed through Eggman's newly made base filled with easy-to-beat badniks. The two were doing great at destroying the place, but then, Tails felt a suddenly weird feeling in his gut. "Uh Sonic?" Tails asked as he saw his big brother finished up another badnik.

"What's it little bro?" the blue blur asked, holding an Orbot who had tried to attack him from behind.

"I feel like in another parallel universe; we just talked to each other for the first time…"

Sonic cocked his eyebrow as he flailed Orbot into the pile of heap with the other broken badniks they destroyed just minutes before.

"That's it Tails, no more midnight pizza snacking for you anymore…" the blue hedgehog yelled as he sped off toward Eggman's control room.

**x-x-x-x-x**

As first period ended, Sonic quickly took off toward the outdoors while Tails and Amy headed straight outside for some fresh air. Skidding to a stop, Sonic decided to grab a few notebooks from his locker while he waited for his next class to start.

Closing his locker, Sonic turned around but sighed heavily as he found Knuckles standing before him.

"I heard ya, spilled out some details to Tails in first period!" the echidna started.

"How'd you hear?"

"Oh, I know some people…" Knuckles winked at Rouge who sat at the top of the lockers, smiling back.

Sonic just nodded as he quickly tried to escape the echidna from talking to him.

"Wait Sonic," Knuckles called as he held onto a peach arm.

The blue hedgehog looked back, emerald green eyes glimmered a tiny glare in them. Knuckles just sighed as he pulled Sonic back in front of him. He was strong; Sonic had to admit…mentally of course! "What do you want?" the blue hedgehog asked, straight and to the point.

"Please, just tell me why you're always avoiding me! I want to help you out…"

"Help? Please, who'd want to help someone like me?"

"Well, I would help you," Knuckles said.

Sonic just uttered a tiny laugh before returning to his usual frown. "Why'd you want to know? Maybe because, oh I don't know, I DON'T LIKE YOU. Sure, you saved me yesterday; opinions don't change easily Mr. Helpful. Now, let go of me…" Sonic said, trying to pull his arm away…but was unsuccessful at it.

"No, that's not the reason… It's your dad isn't it?"

"What?"

"Your dad, it's him. He's the one that's causing you pain."

"Shut up…"

"You just don't want to be close to me because—"

"SHUT UP!"

"Because you don't want any more burden to worry about then what you already have…" the echidna finished as he let go of Sonic's hand. Tears were now streaming down Sonic's muzzle; his hoodie blocked the view from his side. "Go away…" the blue hedgehog said in an angry voice. Instead of following the order, Knuckles stepped closer to Sonic who looked ready to punch him in the gut.

He reached out for Sonic's shoulder as a white gloved hand swat it away. "Leave. Me. Alone…please," the blue hedgehog muttered, lowering his head.

It was then that Sonic left Knuckles, walking away slowly from the red echidna.

_Sorry Sonic, I can't do that. I want to help you; I want to be the friend that Shadow could've been to you._ Knuckles thought to himself as Rouge swooped down and placed her hand onto her friend's shoulder.

**To Be Continued**

Sonic: Hmm…almost two thousand words!

YES, COULD'VE BEEN MORE IF I WASN'T SUCH A LAZY ASS!

Knuckles: Hey, if we keep talking, we might reach it!

Sonic: Please, she doesn't count those things as two thousand-

PUPPIES, SANDWHICHES, I LOVE BROCOLLI! COME ON WORD COUNT! OPEN THE HATCHET, PROP THE SAILS! ARGH!

Sonic: I stand corrected…

Knuckles: Haha, told ya!


End file.
